These men weren't just thieves—they were also involved in human trafficking. Killing them wouldn't be unjust, but it felt too merciful.
"Do they have accomplices? Maybe I should use them as bait—tie them up and wait for their allies to show. Then I can wipe them all out in one go. Or better yet, follow them straight to their hideout and dismantle the whole operation."
Decision made, Badak stripped the men of their shirts, twisting the fabric into makeshift ropes. He hogtied them like pigs, blindfolded and gagged them, then climbed high into the mangrove trees. Transforming into his Great Ape Form, he settled in to wait.
As dusk fell, a group of ten armed men finally arrived—exactly the kind of people ordinary folks would flee from. They didn't hesitate upon spotting the bound captives, immediately removing their blindfolds.
Badak didn't act yet. Instead, he carefully surveyed the area, circling through the treetops to ensure no reinforcements lurked nearby. Good—no one else was hiding.
Just as he prepared to strike, their conversation made him pause.
"Boss, isn't this Carmon's crew?""Oh, let me take a look. Yep, it's them alright. This gang has been getting pretty bold lately, stealing a lot of our business." The bearded man stepped forward, grabbing Carmon's hair—all two and a half meters of him—to confirm his identity. "Wake him up and find out what happened. Looks like they ran into some serious trouble!"
No sooner had he spoken than one of his men stepped up and started slapping Carmon's face—apparently that was their idea of waking someone up. Unfortunately, Carmon's injuries were too severe, and he wasn't coming around anytime soon.
"Boss, Karmen is stealing our business. Why don't we just sell them off? They can't fight back now anyway," one of the underlings suggested bluntly.
"Will that work? Didn't Karmen say he had connections at the Human Auction House on Island No.1?" another underling hesitated.
"Connections my ass! He just has a fellow villager working as a doorman at the auction house. He's been bragging to everyone about having connections there," a third underling retorted.
"Let's do it! In our line of work, if meat falls right into your mouth and you don't eat it, you might as well go home and farm sweet potatoes," the bearded boss finally decided. "Take them away!"
Watching them carry Karmen and his five men farther away, Badak scratched his head, utterly speechless.
The situation had taken an unexpected turn. Badak had initially thought the ten newcomers were Karmen's allies, but they turned out to be competitors—and now planned to sell them off.
"Those who live by selling others will eventually be sold themselves. Serves them right."
The human traffickers on Sabaody Archipelago were shockingly rampant, but Badak had no intention of intervening further. Without addressing the root cause, killing a few traffickers wouldn't make a difference. Even the Marines turned a blind eye—how could Badak possibly handle it all? Unless they provoked him or he caught them in the act, he wouldn't bother.
"My legs are numb from squatting, and this is all I get…" Badak felt ashamed for wasting his time. "I'll find a place to stay first and figure out how to apply for passage over the Red Line to the West Blue tomorrow."
...
The next morning at 9:30, Badak had already been waiting for a while at the World Government's administrative office on Sabaody Archipelago.
After checking into a hotel the night before, Badak had consulted the front desk about the procedures for applying to cross the Red Line and realized it might not be so simple:
First, the approval process for ordinary people to cross the Red Line was strict. After submitting an application, identity verification alone took a long time. Many people in the hotel district were waiting for their applications to be approved, with some staying for over a month. This was understandable—to prevent pirates from slipping through, stricter scrutiny was necessary, even if the efficiency was low.
Second, non-member nations of the World Government were ineligible. This also made sense—if you weren't part of the World Government, you couldn't expect to use its resources.
Third, passage over the Red Line was quota-limited, meaning the number of approvals per day was capped. With New Year's a month away, the Red Line staff would be on holiday, making it impossible to arrange crossings afterward. Applications had to be processed before the break, and this year's quota wouldn't carry over to next year—next year's applicants would have to try earlier.
Badak's home, the Kingdom of Ilusia, was a World Government member state and even a powerful nation eligible to attend the Reverie. He wasn't worried about the first two points. Even if he had lost all his identification, he was confident Ilusia's records could verify his identity, and his approval would be faster than those from smaller nations. His only concern was whether the daily quota had already been filled.In psychology, there's Murphy's Law, which simply means that whatever you fear will happen. Just as the staff finally began working, their first announcement was: This year's passes have all been issued, and no further border approvals for crossing the Red Line will be processed. The crowd immediately erupted into chaos. Badak was left speechless—his journey home was proving truly arduous, and the talent he urgently needed was still waiting in the West Blue!
In the world of pirates, exceptions could always be made for any rule or regulation. Unfortunately, Badak was just a commoner with limited Belly to his name.
"I must scrape together some Belly to grease the wheels. If I really have to wait until next year, who knows how long the queue will be? I might as well fly back myself."
Without lingering, Badak headed straight for the inn.
"Wait—fly back? From Sabaody Archipelago, I can see the Red Line. If I can see it, I won't get lost. The Red Line is so prominent that even if I veer off course, I'd still be flying toward it. No fear of being stranded without ships or islands."
"The West Blue would be even easier. Unlike the Grand Line with its chaotic magnetic fields, I just need to buy a Log Pose and a high-precision nautical chart. The West Blue has better weather, more islands, more ships—I could even hitch a ride along the way."
Having made up his mind, Badak quickened his pace. He couldn't stay at the inn any longer; he needed to rent a house in a secluded spot, especially since he hadn't trained in a while.
"Physical training, swordsmanship practice, and secretly observing the Marines to learn the Six Styles..."
...
After some effort, Badak rented a house on Grove 46 for three months at 600,000 Belly. The house stood alone on a massive mangrove root, with no other buildings nearby.
He had chosen it deliberately—his training might get noisy, and he didn't want to disturb others.
"A sword for 200,000 Belly, weights and training equipment for 100,000 Belly, and the rest spent on daily necessities and food."
Badak calculated his food consumption—it would last about five days. After that, he'd run out.
"If I take on regular work, I won't have time to train. Maybe I should be bolder—I'm not weak anymore. I could pick on lower-bounty pirates..." Badak kept psyching himself up.
On one hand, he felt the unfamiliarity of being alone in a new world. On the other, knowing too much made him overly cautious, holding him back.
"Now is the time for change."